Climate Emergency Manchester (1), with the help of allies, has produced a new briefing paper about the ‘lack of pathway’ offered by Manchester City Council’s Climate Change Framework and Action Plan 2020-5. These documents, which appeared online just days before they were due to be scrutinised, still lack quantification and costing throughout (2).
Ahead of Wednesday’s meeting of the Neighbourhoods and Environment Scrutiny Committee (3) CEM is releasing a five page briefing paper with a number of questions and concrete recommendations.
Chloe Jeffries from Climate Emergency Manchester said:
“These documents offer a greater vision of Manchester as a zero carbon city by 2038, but they provide no pathway or even actions representing first steps of how partners will facilitate this. In order to scrutinise, councillors need documents with quantification and costing throughout. They also need a plan with a willingness to learn by doing, containing creative and novel solutions that do not wait for central government”,
Climate Emergency Manchester will be at Wednesday’s meeting, alongside many concerned citizens. Regardless of what the Scrutiny Committee calls for, the group will continue to campaign for real action on climate change, for deeds not words.
(1) Climate Emergency Manchester is a non-partisan group of volunteers from Manchester. It aims to scrutinise the Council’s actual actions (as distinct from its fine words) and to propose policies to help the city cope with now-inevitable climate change and meet its international obligations. Its next event – a pre-meeting before the Neighbourhood, Environment and Scrutiny Committee – is on Wednesday 4th March 12 noon – 2pm, Patagonia, 51 King Street, Manchester. Refreshments on the house!
(2) A year ago the City Council said it would be releasing a comprehensive Zero Carbon Framework 2020-2038. This document covers a shorter time-frame and was released late afternoon of Friday 28th February.
(3) The Neighbourhood and Environment Scrutiny Committee of Manchester City Council is made up of back-bench councillors. It meets 10 times a year.
(4) The Briefing Paper was produced by a small group of CEM members and allies, over the space of a few days.
Huge thanks to those people in CEM who have brought this briefing paper together..with links to the Framework and 2020-25 Action Plan. Have been trying to digest it ahead of the NESC meeting this afternoon. From the council documents it is is indeed difficult to envisage how the transformation ahead is actually going to proceed …and the briefing paper is helpful in getting a handle on some of the key questions. Thanks again
Thanks Allan! Happy to discuss at NESC pre meeting. New and improved venue : Patagonia, 51 King Street. Will be there from 12 noon, walking over to town hall at 1.45pm